MR. McCLELLAN: Good afternoon. A couple updates on the
President's day -- or one update and then one announcement. The
President spoke with Prime Minister Blair this morning. This was early
this morning. And the two leaders discussed the progress we are making
in Iraq and our ongoing diplomatic efforts on that front.

One announcement: The President has invited President Duarte of
Paraguay to meet with him at the White House on September 26th.
Paraguay is a close ally of the United States in the war on terrorism.
This will be an opportunity for the two leaders to discuss the
important bilateral partnership, and ways to work together to advance
economic growth and prosperity and promote peace, freedom and
stability.

And with that, I'll go right into questions. Seeing none, I'll
leave. (Laughter.)

Q Was the Blair phone call to discuss Blair's conversations
with Chirac and --

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, we're continuing to have discussions with
countries, members of the United Nations Security Council. We're still
working that progress. The meetings in Geneva we thought were good
meetings, and now we're working to look at some of the issues that were
raised there. There was a lot of points of consensus at the Geneva
meeting. So we'll continue talking with all the countries involved.
And the one thing that I do know is that we all share the same goal and
want the same outcome, and that's a sovereign, free and democratic
Iraq, governed of, by and for the Iraqi people, as quickly as
possible.

Q Scott, on that issue, is the speed with which control is
turned over to the Iraqis, themselves, is that a key issue to this
White House?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think that that's an issue that's been
raised. It's important to us that we move as quickly as possible to
transfer responsibility to the Iraqi people. And that's exactly what
we are doing. Ambassador Bremer went and laid out the seven-step
process to fully transferring authority to the Iraqi people. And we've
already made some significant progress on that front with the Iraqi
Governing Council, the beginning of a committee to establish a
constitutional process, which is key. We need to make sure that we
have the institutions of democracy in place so that the Iraqi people
can assume full responsibility for their country.

Q Is the administration resisting the notion of, say, a
timetable, for complete transfer of authority, as some of the others in
the U.N. are calling for out of a fear that to do so too soon is to
compromise the security on the ground?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, that's why I mentioned that you need to have
the institutions of democracy in place to be able to transfer full
responsibility. Now, remember that in the proposed language of the
resolution, what we call for is for the Iraqis, the Iraqi Governing
Council to establish a timetable for a constitution, for free
elections, and report to the Security Council in regards to that
timetable. So that's something that is within the proposed language of
the resolution now.

Q This morning's Wall Street Journal said that the Taliban was
threatening to cut off people's noses who listen to music in
Afghanistan. The President on Friday said that the Taliban found out
what we meant and there was no longer a haven for terrorists. What is
the White House planning on doing or saying to those people who are
being threatened by the Taliban in Afghanistan?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think what you just said at the beginning
shows the true nature of the Taliban and of the type of people that
still seek to do harm to Americans and other countries and that have no
regard for innocent human life, absolutely no regard. These are
nothing but cold-blooded killers. We did dismantle the Taliban regime
in Afghanistan. And there are some remnants that are still trying to
carry out attacks. What we are doing is going after them with the full
force and might of our United States military. And we will continue to
do that, to make sure that we are doing everything we can to protect
the American people from future attacks.

Q Scott, from this podium, you and your predecessor, Ari
Fleischer, have both said that the President is confident that weapons
of mass destruction will be found in Iraq -- not programs, not dual
capabilities, not a history of efforts to acquire them, but actual
weapons of mass destruction. Is the President still confident of that
and when can we expect to hear?

MR. McCLELLAN: David Kaye, who's leading the Iraq survey group,
which is -- they're interviewing people, they're talking to Iraqis,
they're gathering all the intelligence to pull together a complete
picture of Iran -- of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program and
their weapons of mass destruction. They will be presenting more
information in the future about that picture. I think that there's an
interim report that will be provided to the Director of Central
Intelligence, Director Tenet. And so, that work continues. And, yes,
we still stand by what we've previously said.

Q That there will be actual weapons found --

MR. McCLELLAN: Weapons of mass destruction and weapons programs.

Q There was a story over the weekend that this report will be
shelved, that it will be not released because they haven't found
anything.

MR. McCLELLAN: I haven't heard anything like that. David Kaye
continues to do his work. He's been compiling massive amounts of
documents about Iraq's history of weapons of mass destruction and
weapons of mass destruction program.

Q Great. And then, this weekend, the Vice President said that
al Qaeda had received -- al Qaeda personnel had received "training,"
for example, on biological weapons and chemical weapons, that al Qaeda
had sent personnel to Baghdad when it was ruled by Saddam Hussein to
get trained on the systems, and that the Iraqis provided bomb-making
expertise and advice to al Qaeda. Can you back that up?

MR. McCLELLAN: Yes, I think that, in fact, Secretary Powell I
think outlined Iraq's ties to terrorists and terrorist organizations.
I would remind you that there was -- Iraq harbored a senior al Qaeda
associate and collaborator of Osama bin Laden, al Zarqawi. He was the
one who was responsible for the cell that killed an American in
Jordan. He is one that oversaw the network that developed a poisons
lab in the northeastern part of Iraq.

Q But I was wondering about this training on biological weapons
and chemical weapons, providing bomb-making expertise. What's the
source for that?

MR. McCLELLAN: Yes, I think that -- and again, I'd go back and
look at Secretary Powell's specific remarks, but I think that he
outlined a lot of those ties when he went to the United Nations back
earlier this year.

Q President Bush has had high praise for military commanders
who won swift victories in both Afghanistan and Iraq. Does he have
similar praise for a man who won a swift air war over Kosovo, Retired
General Wesley Clark?

MR. McCLELLAN: Again, you're asking in the context of a guy who's
looking at running for president on the Democratic ticket, and I think
that's a nice try, but I will pass and continue to focus on what we are
working to do, which is the people's business.

Q Scott, on Syria, Under Secretary Bolton went before the House
subcommittee and briefed them, saying that they still continue to
pursue weapons of mass destruction, they support Hezbollah and Hamas,
and also are allowing militants to cross the border into Iraq. At what
point does the administration say, enough is enough, we're going to
slap economic sanctions?

MR. McCLELLAN: Again, I think that's -- that he summed up well our
longstanding and well-known concerns about Syria's behavior in the
Middle East and their support for terrorist groups. Syria has a
history and they continue to harbor and assist terrorists and terrorist
organizations, including Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah,
and others. And their behavior is unacceptable. And states that
harbor terror, as the President has made clear, will be held
accountable.

We're also concerned about, as you mentioned, their weapons of mass
destruction program, and we are concerned about the cross-boarder
infiltration of foreign fighters or foreign terrorists that are coming
into Iraq, trying to attack the Iraqi people, coalition forces, the
United States included in that. So there are a number of longstanding
concerns that we have with regards to Syria. They know our views; they
know what needs to be done. And we will continue to make clear what
our view is.

Q So what is the administration prepared to do about it?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, we've made it very clear to Syria what they
need to do, that their behavior is unacceptable, and that they need to
change their behavior.

Q Are economic sanctions a possibility?

MR. McCLELLAN: I'm not speculating. I'm making it very clear that
their behavior is unacceptable and they will be held accountable for
that behavior.

Q Scott, two things. First, some from both sides of the aisle
are questioning how is the nation better than four years ago, as they
are watching the Democratic candidates throw up issues -- finding no
weapons of mass destruction, no exits to the Iraqi war, the economy and
jobless rates.

MR. McCLELLAN: Are we trying to get into the campaign season now?

Q No, we're not trying, we are in the campaign season.

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think some people are. We're in the season
of staying focused on the people's business, and that's what we will
continue to do. There are some very high priorities that we need to
continue to address. That's winning the war on terrorism, where we're
making great progress, and strengthening our economy. That's where the
President's focus is. I know there's a lot of politics going on and
people will say a lot of things during the Democratic primary process,
but we will remain focused on the people's business.

Q But beyond the partisan politics, these are real issues that
are being brought to you every day. So this is not about politics, but
how is the nation better today than four years ago?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, America is safer and stronger; safer in terms
of the action that we are taking in the war on terrorism, by going on
the offensive and going after terrorists and bringing them to justice
before they can carry out an attack on our shores. And we will
continue to do that. We continue to take -- the President inherited a
recession. We continue to work to build on the steps that we have
already taken to strengthen our economy and get it growing again. It
is growing. There are a lot of positive signs out there. But there is
more to do, and that's why the President has continued to focus on
leading and acting on behalf of the American people.

Q And the next question, real quick. The Senate has overturned
the relaxation of the media ownership rules, and the President was for
the relaxation. And some are saying, why is he for the relaxation when
he is so for diversity, and diversity includes diverse opinion.

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, one, the FCC is the body that is responsible
for looking at this issue. They spent a lot of time looking at this
issue, with respect to the broadcast media ownership. And we think
that the rules that the FCC came up with more accurately reflect the
changing media landscape and the current state of network station
ownership, while guarding against undue concentration in the
marketplace. So we think the FCC did its job, and that's what it was
supposed to do. They took almost two years to develop these rules.
And I did notice the Senate action today. I think that the vote
appears to show that there would not be enough votes there to overturn
a possible veto.

Q But on diversity, diverse issues, the President talks about
how he's looking for everybody to be able to get along and everybody
have the same kind of ground -- to be able to start off at the same
level. But how is it that way when you're letting media organizations
or wanting media organizations to own everything in one community and
have that one voice instead of having everyone talk?

MR. McCLELLAN: I don't know that I agree with that
characterization. Like I said, the FCC did its job.

Let me go to Keith.

Q If I could follow on that -- you said a possible veto. Is
the veto threat still on for that --

MR. McCLELLAN: That's in the statement of administration policy.
That is in there.

Q I just wanted to ask you -- this morning your colleague said
that the result of the Cancun collapse of the talks would result in a
pause, which implies that the deadline won't be met, January 1st,
2005. But it also could mean that there's no negotiations for the next
period of time, three months, six months, and then as most trade
negotiations happen, there's a furious activity and they could still
make the deadline of January 1st, 2005. Is the President at all
thinking that that might be a possibility?

MR. McCLELLAN: I think as you mentioned what my colleague said,
that it's expected that after this meeting that there would be a pause
and that countries would have to go back and assess what happened and
determine how we can move forward. In the meantime, the United States
is going to continue working bilaterally and regionally on expanding
trade and opening markets. It's important that we continue to expand
trade.

I think that it was a real mis-opportunity in Cancun. The
President is strongly committed to opening markets and expanding trade
for American products and workers and making sure that the playing
field is level.

Q So, clearly, this deadline won't be met --

MR. McCLELLAN: Well again, at this point there's going to be a
pause and a time of assessment by all the members to determine how we
can move forward. We are committed to moving forward aggressively on
expanding trade and we will continue to move forward, both in terms of
bilateral approach and the regional approach with other countries.

Q Has the administration made a decision yet about reducing the
loan guarantees to Israel on the basis of settlement activity? And can
you update us on what consideration is being given at this point as far
as reducing the loan guarantees to reflect whatever Israel is spending
on the fence?

MR. McCLELLAN: Yes, two things. One, in terms of the loan
guarantee that we will be providing to Israel that builds upon
additional assistance we have already provided to Israel, this is for
helping Israel with economic growth and helping them on their economic
reform plan.

Now, the authorizing legislation, when it passed in the
supplemental, I believe, last March, stated that if Israel is spending
money on settlement activity, then there needs to be a reduction in
that loan guarantee. Secretary Powell is the one that the President
has designated to oversee this loan guarantee package. And so,
Secretary Powell will make the determination in terms of what spending
reductions there might be. I expect that there may well be some
reductions. But those are decisions that will be made by the Secretary
of State.

Q And does that include the fence, as well?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, in terms of the fence, there are still
discussions ongoing. We have made our concerns known. I don't rule
anything out at this point.

Q Scott, representatives Murtha and Pelosi are saying that the
Bush administration has put U.S. soldiers at risk by not spending more
on critical needs in the field, and they're asking for a fuller
accounting of how the first $65 billion has been spent -- that was
appropriated has been spent, and is being spent, before acting on the
President's latest request. Are you prepared to do that?

MR. McCLELLAN: I think our Department of Defense stays in close
contact with members of Congress about the funds and where they're
being spent. The President is committed to making sure that our men
and women in uniform have all the resources they need to win the war on
terrorism. That's what this is all about. It's about winning the war
on terrorism and better protecting the American people from future
attacks. And the commanders in the field are the ones that make the
decisions in terms of what is needed. But we will do everything we can
to make sure that they have all the equipment, all the resources they
need, to do the outstanding job that they are doing.

Q Following the meeting between Bono and the President, Bono
told reporters that he believes the President is truly committed to a
long-term strategy regarding AIDS funding for Africa. However, he said
in the immediate -- what's happening right now is the President is --
and these are his words -- "short-changing the program." What happened
to the $3 billion commitment for fiscal year '04?

MR. McCLELLAN: I don't know how one could look at what the
President has done and come up with those words that you used to
describe it. The President has shown unprecedented leadership in the
fight against AIDS, globally and at home.

He outlined a $15 billion package over five years to direct
resources to -- a lot of those resources to the most afflicted
countries in Africa and the Caribbean, 14 countries in all. The
President is strongly committed to helping those who are suffering in
those afflicted countries. And we are fully committed to making sure
that that $15 billion is implemented.

Q Did the White House ever commit to $3 billion on the front
end, the first year, '04?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, keep in mind that, again, there's $15 billion
over five years. You need to make sure that the infrastructure is in
place for those resources to be spent. We want to make sure that the
money is spent effectively and that there's accountability for that
money. So there's a ramp-up period, and so that money will continue to
ramp up over time, but it will be a total of $15 billion over five
years.

And we are working with Congress to make sure that the $2 billion
that was requested is fully funded, and Congress is moving forward on
that. This is one of the President's highest priorities. He made it
very clear in his State of the Union address that it was important that
Congress act on this initiative. So we are moving forward to make sure
that it is fully funded.

Q Back on Israel, following up on the previous question. The
President has previously said that the fence is a problem. Does the
President believe the fence is still a problem?

MR. McCLELLAN: No, I said that we have made our concerns known.
Those concerns remain, and there is nothing to update you, in terms of
the discussions. The President said we would talk about this directly
with the Israeli government, and that's what we will continue to do.

Q They're still building it, though.

MR. McCLELLAN: And we will continue to talk about these concerns
with the Israeli government.

Q And then on this afternoon's event, the President campaigned
as a uniter, not a divider; as someone who would seek bipartisan
consensus on issues. The officials and community leaders who are
coming to the East Garden this afternoon are all supporters of the
President's Clear Skies Initiative. Does he have any plans to meet
with opponents of it, and if not, why not?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, reaching out is a two-way street, keep in
mind. The President has reached out because the President believes,
particularly on the issue you're talking about, when it comes to
improving our environment and protecting our environment, that we need
to focus on results. We need to focus on building upon the progress
that we have made.

The President announced yesterday the most recent air quality trend
report, which showed that since 1970 there has been a nearly 50-percent
reduction in emissions. And we want to build upon that progress.
That's why the President is urging Congress later today -- continuing
to urge Congress to act on his Clear Skies Initiative. This will lead
to a 70-percent reduction in power plant emissions, based on a proven
approach that was based on the market-based approach under the acid
rain program. The environment is too important to become politicized.
And the President recognizes that we need to have both environmental
protection and economic growth. The two go hand in hand. When you
have economic growth, you can invest in the innovative new technologies
needed to better protect the environment.

And so we want to build upon the progress we have made to improve
our air quality. And that's what the Clear Skies Initiative does. And
we welcome anybody that wants to work with us to get this passed. We
hope that they will work with us to get this passed as quickly as
possible, and urge members to move forward on this important priority.

Q How do you respond to major environmental groups who oppose
the Clear Skies Initiative because they say it effectively puts off too
far into the future significant emissions?

MR. McCLELLAN: I say that this is an unprecedented approach by a
President of the United States that will lead to the most ambitious
reduction -- we'll see you later, John -- (laughter) -- that will lead
to the most ambitious reduction in power plant emissions ever,
70-percent reduction; and that we should be working together, focusing
on areas of common ground.

Q Environmental groups say that without the changes that the
administration made -- further reductions than that 70 percent that
you're talking about would be made sooner.

MR. McCLELLAN: There are alternative approaches that could have a
very negative effect on our economy. And we are still working to
strengthen our economic growth. The economic growth and environmental
protection go hand in hand. And the alternative is lost jobs, harm to
our economy. That's an approach that the President doesn't believe is
needed, that we can do both, we can do both.

Let me move on.

Q The President does not include there any limits on carbon
dioxide. Why not?

MR. McCLELLAN: Because of the concerns we -- because of what we
expressed previously. One, that's not regulated under the Clean Air
Act, recognized as a pollutant under the Clean Air Act. But most
importantly, for what I was just talking about, because it could have a
very negative and harmful effect on jobs, job creation and our
economy. It could cost us a lot of money in increased energy prices.
It could cost us money in terms of the economy and would be a job
killer to take a drastic approach like that at this point.

That's why -- now, we are moving forward with the President's
climate change initiative, which does work to reduce the growth in
greenhouse gas intensity by 18 percent. At the same time, it allows us
to grow our economy.

Q But the problem there, as I understand it, is that you've got
coal-fired plants which are responsible for about half the nation's
electricity. Your concern about carbon caps, which is one of the
pushes on legislation on the Hill, is, I gather, that it would affect
all the coal-fired plants. Is that where your objection lies --

MR. McCLELLAN: No, I think it lies in the fact that it would hurt
job creation and it would hurt our economy if you took that approach.
We are continuing to put a lot of -- the Kyoto protocol is one thing to
look back at, and some of the estimates that were based on that, in
terms of the billions of dollars it would cost the economy and the
millions of jobs that would be lost. That's why we're taking the
approach we are. The President also, on the climate change front, is
working to -- we're putting a lot of money into research, while at the
same time working to reduce the growth in greenhouse gas intensity, but
keep our economy growing, so that we can have investment in those new
technologies that are needed to address the very issue that you brought
up.

Q Scott, the President, at the U.N. a year ago, said that Iraq
presented the U.N. with a test. Does the President think the U.N.
failed that test? And will he address those failures next week when he
goes to the U.N.?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, one, I think that we'll have a preview of his
remarks closer to next week, closer to Tuesday. So I don't want to
jump ahead of it at this point -- still working on those remarks. But
the President has made it known that, for instance, in Iraq, that
decision in terms of going into Iraq and removing the threat that
Saddam Hussein posed -- remember, as the President said, Saddam Hussein
won't be giving weapons of mass destruction to any terrorist
organizations. We know that for sure.

The U.N. has a vital role to play as we move forward in Iraq, and
as we move forward toward a sovereign, free and democratic Iraq. And
so we are continuing to work with the U.N. in that area. The President
wants the U.N. to be an effective body, and that's why he gave the
speech he did last September.

Q Would it be fair to say, though, that on the decision the
Security Council made in March, the President feels that the U.N.
failed that test --

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, Saddam Hussein had been given ample
opportunity to comply with resolution after resolution after resolution
-- at least 17 in all. And the threat in the post-September 11th world
became even more real. And it's important that after that continued
defiance, that we address that threat. And so we moved forward on
that. But that decision has already occurred. Now we need to move
forward on bringing freedom and democracy to the Iraqi people. That's
what we are doing because that's important to winning the war on
terrorism and bringing peace and stability to the Middle East, an
important region that has been a breeding ground for terrorism.

Q Thank you, Scott. Yesterday, the judicial activists of the
Ninth Circuit struck again. Last week, Miguel Estrada withdrew his
nomination in the face of unprecedented and prolonged filibusters by
Democrats in the Senate. Is the President considering recess
appointments to end what has become a judicial and constitutional
crisis?

MR. McCLELLAN: Recess appointments for judicial nominees? One,
we're not in recess. The President is committed to the nominees that
he has put forward. In terms of Miguel Estrada, it was disappointing,
but understandable that he would withdraw his name after that lengthy
process. People are politicizing the judicial process, and vacancies
remain. We need to fill those vacancies. The President has appointed
very qualified people, including Miguel Estrada. And the Senate needs
to give those nominees an up or down vote. It's very outrageous that
they are playing politics with judicial nominees. It's unprecedented.

Q Any comment on the Ninth Circuit's actions yesterday in
regard to the California recall?

Q Scott, on North Korea, can you explain the statement your
office released last night about giving U.S. aid for energy? Will some
of the U.S. money go to the North Korea? And are there secret
negotiations --

MR. McCLELLAN: No, it's for the administration of KEDO. We made
that clear in the statement.

Q KEDO is just South Korea?

MR. McCLELLAN: I'm sorry?

Q KEDO is just South Korea negotiations?

MR. McCLELLAN: No, no, no. It was set up when the agreed
framework was reached. And we continue to believe it's important to
provide the administrative funding for it. But no money is going to
North Korea for any nuclear activities.

Q Tomorrow's National Archives rededication -- does the
President have any theme in mind for the remarks he's going to give
there?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, listen to his remarks. But this is the
rededication after, I guess, two years of work on the National
Archives. And it's certainly a historic building that houses some very
important documents. And so the President looks forward to going there
and rededicating it. It's important for our country and for the
American people.

Q The Department of the Army spokesman at the Pentagon said
yesterday that retired Colonel David Hackworth is a heavily dedicated
combat leader who is not regarded as undependable. And they have also
seen his column where he reports, "apparently more than half of the
women deployed to Iraq are now pregnant." And my question: While Army
spokesmen from the Pentagon and Baghdad would neither confirm nor deny
this pregnancy rate, surely the Commander-in-Chief will not try to
evade this very serious problem, will he, Scott?

Q -- I want to know how does the Commander-in-Chief -- is he
concerned that all these women are getting pregnant?

MR. McCLELLAN: Les, I haven't heard anything about this.

Q Colonel Hackworth also reports thousands of angry e-mails
from veterans protesting the awarding of the Bronze Star to PFC Jessica
Lynch after propagandists conned The Washington Post into reporting
that she was shot and stabbed, but continued to kill Iraqis, which
never happened. And I wonder, how does the Commander-in-Chief react to
thousands of veterans' complaints?

Q There's a new GAO report that is critical of public diplomacy
efforts by the United States. How is that effort going in Iraq, the
effort to inform the Iraqi people? Is the U.S. message getting
across?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, I think that it's always important to make
sure that we are communicating the steps that we are taking in Iraq to
improve the infrastructure, improve stability and security in the
country, and transfer responsibility to the Iraqi people. I think the
Iraqi Governing Council is playing more and more of a role in getting
that message across. I mean, I think that's a question better directed
to the Coalition Provisional Authority, in terms of the specific steps
to take. I haven't seen the GAO report. I don't know when it came
out, but I haven't seen it.

Q Scott, state and local election officials have been
complaining that as they try to replace punch card machines they're not
getting the federal aid that they were promised. A lot of the money
has been held up because of the appointment of the new election
commission. And the President just mentioned his intention to nominate
some members, even though the commission was supposed to be set up last
February. In addition, he only asked for -- in his budget -- for $500
million next year, which does not fully fund the Help America Vote
Act. Why isn't the President acting more aggressively in trying to
implement this law?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, one, you pointed out he has nominated or
announced his intention to nominate I believe four individuals to be
members of the Election Assistance Commission. And I expect that in
the very near future, the President will be able to nominate the
candidates.

So the process is usually that he announces the intention, and then
shortly after that we move forward on actually nominating those
individuals. But we have distributed to the states all of the $625
million that was appropriated under Title I of the bill that was
passed. The President, as you're aware, did support and sign the 2003
legislation that provided historic allocation of resources to fund
election administration upgrades, as you mentioned, as part of our
partnership with the states.

Q Well, why didn't you press forward funding it next year?

MR. McCLELLAN: We are providing -- well, we are working to provide
an additional $500 million to those activities. We believe that that's
a sufficient amount that builds upon what we have already provided to
the states.

Q On the Robert Novak-Joseph Wilson situation, Novak reported
earlier this year -- quoting -- "anonymous government sources" telling
him that Wilson's wife was a CIA operative. Now, this is apparently a
federal offense, to burn the cover a CIA operative. Wilson now
believes that the person who did this was Karl Rove. He's quoted from
a speech last month as saying, "At the end of the day, it's of keen
interest to me to see whether or not we can get Karl Rove frog-marched
out of the White House in handcuffs." Did Karl Rove tell that --

MR. McCLELLAN: I haven't heard that. That's just totally
ridiculous. But we've already addressed this issue. If I could find
out who anonymous people were, I would. I just said, it's totally
ridiculous.

Q But did Karl Rove do it?

MR. McCLELLAN: I said, it's totally ridiculous.

Q I have a second question. The second question is, a report
yesterday from Center for Science in the Public Interest says children
in America are getting fat. Obesity rates have doubled and tripled --
doubled in children and tripled in teens over the last two decades.
They blame it on junk food in schools. Kids are taking in 30 pounds of
soda every year now. They say, they're eating a lot of Hostess Ho-Hos
out of the vending machines. They want to ban junk food from the
schools. Does the President agree with that proposal?

MR. McCLELLAN: We are working on a number of fronts to improve the
health of the American people. I mean, the Department of Health and
Human Services, the Department of Agriculture are working on those
efforts. And obviously, individual school districts make decisions
about their schools. But there are a number of fronts in the
President's initiative to improve physical fitness.

Q Scott, as the President goes to the United Nations to address
the General Assembly next week, he will be meeting, I understand, with
the Prime Minister of India and General Musharraf, Pakistan. But
Indian Prime Minister has refused to meet with General Musharraf in New
York next week because of what he says, the twin bombings have started
in India, double bombings and unless President Bush puts pressure on
Musharraf in New York, really there will not be what you call --
talks. And also, what U.S. does really for India, as far as bombings
are concerned, this all depends on how the President will be meeting
and what is his message.

MR. McCLELLAN: Two things. One, as we get closer to the U.N.,
we'll have more to say about his agenda and his meetings and his
remarks that he will make. Two, we have made our views very well-known
when it comes to India and Pakistan and the need for the parties to
continue working to reduce tensions in the region.

Q Hurricane Isabel, what the White House, the President is
doing to prepare.

MR. McCLELLAN: The Department of -- well, a couple of things. The
Department of Homeland Security, as you've seen today from Secretary
Ridge, has been working on preparations in advance of Hurricane
Isabel's landfall. They've been doing that since early last week. We
are taking all necessary steps to be prepared -- to be as prepared as
possible for its landfall. And in terms of the President, the
President has been being kept apprised of what we are doing. He's been
briefed in his morning briefings by Secretary Ridge, by his Homeland
Security Advisor, General Gordon. So he's continuing to be kept
apprised of all that we are -- all the actions that we are taking.

The White House is also in close contact and communication with the
Office of Personnel Management, Secretary Ridge and FEMA, to make sure
appropriate measures are taken in terms of the federal government in
Washington, D.C. and at the White House. So we continue to take
actions. Homeland Security has activated its emergency preparedness
and response teams in expectation of Isabel's arrival on land. There
are a number of steps that they have taken to -- activating the
headquarters operations center and regional centers in the areas that
might be impacted. FEMA has activated medical teams, emergency
communication equipment, emergency rescue teams, as well as
pre-positioned emergency packages that include cots, blankets, food,
water and generators, among other things.

So they continue to work closely with states on the preparedness.
I think Secretary Ridge a short time ago had a video conference with
state emergency management officials, as well. But we are making sure
that we are taking all the necessary steps to address this in the
regions that would be impacted, as well as here in Washington, D.C.